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1st timer advice/help on buying Disco


Doughnut 2

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Greetings all – Help / Advice from the Experts please

OK, I’m looking at buying a Disco 2003/2004 Landmark or ES Auto, mostly for on-road use, but will be used on the odd occasion off-road.

I’m looking for advice on buying the vehicle, Do’s & Don’ts.

What to check for etc, bearing in mind never had a 4x4 before.

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Chassis and box sections can rust. Also check for accident repairs

Front hub sensors. Each wheel’s rotation is electronically monitored by a sensor, which can fail regularly on earlier vehicles

Leaking sunroof. Debris block drain holes, then water comes in

Wet rear load space. Water gets in above the rear door

Air suspension. Is it sitting level? Does the air compressor come on at start-up? Could be a leak at the bottom of the suspension air bag

Smoke. Look for blue oil smoke, black diesel smoke (overfueling), heavy black diesel smoke (failing turbocharger) or white smoke on starting (water in the bores)

Steering bushes wear rapidly

Coolant leaks. Td5 water pumps can leak, causing coolant level to drop, then overheating occurs

ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement) pipes are showing corrosion on early models. Can be seen behind the off-side front wheel

Interior and exterior. Most should still be smart. Tatty or battered examples should be very cheap – but better to find another than repair/repaint. If interior looks worn is the mileage higher than indicated?

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TD5 is a really good car body doest rust away like the tdi.

I had lots of niggles with mine all fixable cheaply but if you are not a land rover person or dont diy you are going to hate it.

Early engines did head gaskets i beleive later ones with steel head dowels are okay, rads are a weak point possibly due to previous head gasket failure.

Assuming the car starts immediately runs and drives nice, the biggest thing has got to be internal water leaks, real pain in the arse, mine had screen, sunroof and rear door leaks and one from the roof bar mounting .

To find them i had to drop the whole roof lining down and out not easy with rear air con.

I would leave it a while let and let the prices come down to a more sensible level as i have been watching discovery es premium models on e bay and they are steadily coming down from the stupid christmas prices.

I would higlt recomend joining the disocvery owners club 25quid then you can find a local member to come and look at the car with you.

Hth

Lynall

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